Ibuprofen reduces Aβ, hyperphosphorylated tau and memory deficits in Alzheimer mice
Bibliographic
This study examined the effects of ibuprofen on cognitive deficits, Aβ and tau accumulation in young triple transgenic (3×Tg-AD) mice. 3×Tg-AD mice were fed ibuprofen-supplemented chow between 1 and 6 months. Untreated 3×Tg-AD mice showed significant impairment in the ability to learn the Morris water maze (MWM) task compared to age-matched wild-type (WT) mice. The performance of 3×TgAD mice was significantly improved with ibuprofen treatment compared to untreated 3×Tg-AD mice. Ibuprofen-treated transgenic mice showed a significant decrease in intraneuronal oligomeric Aβ and hyperphosphorylated tau (AT8) immunoreactivity in the hippocampus. Confocal microscopy demonstrated co-localization of conformationally altered (MC1) and early phosphorylated tau (CP-13) with oligomeric Aβ, and less co-localization of oligomeric Aβ and later forms of phosphorylated tau (AT8 and PHF-1) in untreated 3×Tg-AD mice. These findings show that prophylactic treatment of young 3×Tg-AD mice with ibuprofen reduces intraneuronal oligomeric Aβ, reduces cognitive deficits, and prevents hyperphosphorylated tau immunoreactivity. These findings provide further support for intraneuronal Aβ as a cause of cognitive impairment, and suggest that pathological alterations of tau are associated with intraneuronal oligomeric Aβ accumulation.